Lecture delves into spiritual life of atheist nation

Published: Monday, October 15, 2012 at 5:28 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 15, 2012 at 5:28 p.m.

How does an officially atheist state carry on the rituals of life and death?

That problem confronted the Soviet Union for its entire existence, according to historian Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock

How it tried to solve that problem will be the subject of her lecture, “A Sacred Space: The Spiritual Life of Soviet Atheism,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Burney Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Smolkin-Rothrock, an assistant professor of history at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, will deliver this year’s Sherman Emerging Scholar Lecture for the UNCW history department. Admission is free, and the public is invited.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet Communism waged a vigorous war against religion, which Karl Marx had denounced as “the opiate of the people.”

By the 1960s, however, under the leadership of Nikita Krushchev, party leaders realized that “aggressive anti-religious campaigns didn’t produce results,” Smolkin-Rothrock said.

Communist Party leaders, along with sociologists, ethnographers and officials, then tried to propagate an atheistic worldview, one that was not merely anti-religious but would promote values that would lead to productive, useful citizens.

“Naturally, everything goes to committees,” Smolkin-Rothrock said in a phone interview, “and the result is, you have these fascinating discussions. What does a socialist wedding look like? How do you arrange a room to mourn for someone, without making it look like a church. As one party member put it, how do you teach Soviet people to die like a Bolshevik?”

This gave rise to institutions such as the Soviet “palaces of weddings” where civil unions would be formalized. (Even today, Smolkin-Rothrock noted, most Russian couples will still have services in these institutions, even if they also have church weddings.)

The Soviet effort to create rituals to supplant religious practice had only limited success, Smolkin-Rothrock noted. “The Soviets were very good at burying heroes,” she said, “but for ordinary people, they couldn’t come up with an alternative narrative of death.” Many Russians continued to summons priests for funerals; many were still baptized, if only surreptitiously.”

The “tragic” irony, Smolkin-Rothrock noted, was that Russia became a truly secular society only after the Soviet Union collapsed and citizens could create rituals on their own to satisfy their needs. Many officials in former Soviet atheist groups became vocal supporters for freedom of religious conscience – for the rights of minority groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example – in post-Soviet society.

A native of Ukraine, Smolkin-Rothrock studied at Sarah Lawrence College and received her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. She has published articles on “scientific atheism” and the Soviet space program.

Launched in 2002, the Sherman Emerging Lecture Series honors Virginia and Derrick Sherman, longtime supporters of the UNCW history department. Each fall, the series presents a talk by a rising young scholar, chosen by a national competition.

“We like to find people with a fresh perspective,” said Paul A. Townend, chairman of the history department. Smolkin-Rothrock was chosen, he added, because her work “explored the connections between art, culture, and history.”

<p>How does an officially atheist state carry on the rituals of life and death? </p><p>That problem confronted the Soviet Union for its entire existence, according to historian Victoria Smolkin-Rothrock </p><p>How it tried to solve that problem will be the subject of her lecture, “A Sacred Space: The Spiritual Life of Soviet Atheism,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Burney Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.</p><p>Smolkin-Rothrock, an assistant professor of history at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, will deliver this year's Sherman Emerging Scholar Lecture for the <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic71"><b>UNCW</b></a> history department. Admission is free, and the public is invited.</p><p>After the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet Communism waged a vigorous war against religion, which Karl Marx had denounced as “the opiate of the people.”</p><p>By the 1960s, however, under the leadership of Nikita Krushchev, party leaders realized that “aggressive anti-religious campaigns didn't produce results,” Smolkin-Rothrock said.</p><p>Communist Party leaders, along with sociologists, ethnographers and officials, then tried to propagate an atheistic worldview, one that was not merely anti-religious but would promote values that would lead to productive, useful citizens.</p><p>“Naturally, everything goes to committees,” Smolkin-Rothrock said in a phone interview, “and the result is, you have these fascinating discussions. What does a socialist wedding look like? How do you arrange a room to mourn for someone, without making it look like a church. As one party member put it, how do you teach Soviet people to die like a Bolshevik?”</p><p>This gave rise to institutions such as the Soviet “palaces of weddings” where civil unions would be formalized. (Even today, Smolkin-Rothrock noted, most Russian couples will still have services in these institutions, even if they also have church weddings.) </p><p>The Soviet effort to create rituals to supplant religious practice had only limited success, Smolkin-Rothrock noted. “The Soviets were very good at burying heroes,” she said, “but for ordinary people, they couldn't come up with an alternative narrative of death.” Many Russians continued to summons priests for funerals; many were still baptized, if only surreptitiously.”</p><p>The “tragic” irony, Smolkin-Rothrock noted, was that Russia became a truly secular society only after the Soviet Union collapsed and citizens could create rituals on their own to satisfy their needs. Many officials in former Soviet atheist groups became vocal supporters for freedom of religious conscience – for the rights of minority groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses, for example – in post-Soviet society.</p><p>A native of Ukraine, Smolkin-Rothrock studied at Sarah Lawrence College and received her master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. She has published articles on “scientific atheism” and the Soviet space program.</p><p>Launched in 2002, the Sherman Emerging Lecture Series honors Virginia and Derrick Sherman, longtime supporters of the UNCW history department. Each fall, the series presents a talk by a rising young scholar, chosen by a national competition. </p><p>“We like to find people with a fresh perspective,” said Paul A. Townend, chairman of the history department. Smolkin-Rothrock was chosen, he added, because her work “explored the connections between art, culture, and history.”</p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic14"><b>Ben Steelman</b></a>: 343-2208</p>